Joe Soucheray’s proposal of building a permanent ice palace on Harriet Island in time for the 2018 Super Bowl is a great idea (“Super Bowl is fun, but ice palace could be forever,” May 25). The writer’s suggestion (“High and huge,” June 2) of putting it somewhere high such as Mounds Park is even better. It would look fantastic next to the Airway Beacon at the top of the bluff. After all, St. Paul looks up to Dayton’s Bluff.

Unfortunately, it will never be built in any park. We now live in a time when every bird, tree and weed in our parks must be preserved and the automobile is the ultimate in evil when it comes to transportation. The haggling over the necessary number of parking spaces alone could take decades, not to mention the environmental studies and neighbor protests.

Therefore, I propose a less desirable but more practical location — the dead center (pun intended) of the once thriving retail district in downtown St. Paul. To be precise, let’s build it on the site of the former Dayton’s/Macy’s store. It is empty and will soon be razed to be replaced by either another Super Hole or an architecturally nondescript building of some sort. Maybe even the comatose Town Square Park could be revived and become part of the permanent ice palace.

This location isn’t far from either Lowertown or the Rice Park area and is literally on the Green Line. There are no neighbors to bother, parking shouldn’t be a problem, and the environmental impact will be minimal because that area hasn’t seen anything natural in years.

Greg Cosimini, St. Paul

Frustrating, right?

Imagine the anticipation in attending a concert or sporting event. You make all your plans in advance, buying tickets and booking a hotel room ahead of time, only to find out it’s been canceled minutes before it was supposed to start, with little explanation given (“Fear of severe weather cancels marathon,” June 2). Frustrating, right? That’s exactly how I felt with what happened with Sunday’s Minneapolis Marathon, which would have been my first full marathon. Team Ortho, who put on the race, demonstrated poor communication and decision-making skills when choosing to cancel for a storm that never ended up happening. They failed at regularly updating social media as promised, and I heard from a pacer, not a race official, that the race had been canceled minutes after 6,000-plus runners had lined up at the start. I appreciate Team Ortho’s gesture of future race discounts, but it’s not enough to persuade me to return to another of their events.

Ashley Miller, Clear Lake, Iowa

The message?

So, the reigning WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx extend their winning streak to seven games, earning Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve her 100th victory in the process. And the story appears on page 5B — right next to “Sports briefing” (“Lynx keep playing like champs,” June 2).

Meanwhile, what’s on the front page of Monday’s Pioneer Press sports section? A big color photo of the Timberwolves’ Kevin Love, along with a Tom Powers column telling us nothing has happened regarding the status of this unhappy player on a losing team.

What’s the message here, Pioneer Press?

Paul Bard, St. Paul

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